An ex- taxi driver has revealed he is a prisoner in his own home due to kidney failure and a rare skin-rotting disease.
Ian Foster, from County Down, was taken ill in January 2020 and has been left unable to work since developing a rare condition.
The 59-year-old lost his leg in January after suffering a condition called calciphylaxis, which causes skin to rot on the back of his legs.
It was a rare side effect triggered by dialysis and, as a result, Ian has been trapped in his living room where he is forced to eat, sleep and go to the toilet in the same room.
His wife Noeleen, 49, has become his full time carer and has slept on a sofa for the last two years in order to take care of her husband - as their home lacks the facilities needed for professional carers.
The family-of-four, who live in a three-bed semi, need an extension to help meet Ian's needs but a grant does not cover the £6,000 needed.
Now their daughter Natasha, a law student, has set up a GoFundMe appeal for her dad to help raise awareness of their desperate plight.
She wrote: “I never thought I would need to have to make a GoFundMe page, but unfortunately, I do not see any other way forward
“Anyone who knows my father knows he’s a joker. He has always been the life and soul of the party and always the first to make everyone laugh.
“After two years of illness and having to spend all his days in one room, he is very down.
“My father worked all of his life and has never had to rely on benefits until now because he cannot work and my mother has to care for him round the clock.”
Natasha said: “The condition is so rare that the doctor had only dealt with six cases before.
“It caused sepsis several times. We were told many times to say our goodbyes because they didn’t think that he would make it.
“The skin on the back of his legs rotted and fell off. His foot and toes went black.
“The amputation has really helped and he is now feeling much better, but he is confined to bed and a wheelchair.
“In our house, the doors are not wheelchair-friendly, so when we take him to hospital, Mum has a tough time getting his chair out.
“Dad isn’t suitable for prosthesis due to other medical issues and he is now completely bed-bound.
“He receives dialysis twice a week and otherwise spends all his time in the living room.
“Dad has no privacy, and when we have visitors, my sister and I have to leave the living room with them if Dad needs the toilet.”
Natasha has said the extension would give her dad, who worked as a taxi driver for 30 years, the privacy and dignity he deserves.
She said: “We have had planning permission granted to have an extension, but unfortunately, the grant from the Housing Executive isn’t enough to cover the work.
“With my mother and father unable to work, there is no way we would be able to access to the extra £6,000 we need. That’s why I have set up the appeal fund.
“The last two years have been a nightmare. It’s heartbreaking to see Dad [with] no life at all.
“Me and my sister try to help, but Mum gets it tough too. We would be very grateful for any donations as we understand it is a big ask in today’s economic climate.”
